


NDE

by MsEllieJane



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Gen, If you squint you can see a thematic reference to the OA, Near Death Experience, Prompt: "First", The Admiral's Legion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-14 22:30:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13017489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsEllieJane/pseuds/MsEllieJane
Summary: “Two fractured ribs, extensive internal bruising and a concussion,” read the nurse from the display. “Considering you were clinically dead for 2 minutes, that’s surprisingly mild.”





	NDE

**Author's Note:**

> Ficlet for the prompt "First" from The Admiral's Legion on Tumblr.

Something was pounding on her chest as adrenaline raced through her veins. Sounds faded in gradually at first, then poured into her head in a frantic rush. Her awareness was filled with familiar voices and the incessant beeping of medical alarms.

“She’s stabilizing,” said the loudest voice. “Dr. Cornwell, can you hear us? Kat? Can you respond?” She opened her eyes and blurred shapes turned into the concerned face of Dr. Rayne and the stern face of Nurse Antsiferov.

Katrina tried to sit up but gentle hands firmly pressed her shoulders back down. There was a loud ringing in her ears and she pressed her hands to her eyes, the light suddenly too bright. Her head was pounding but a hypospray to her neck made it fade into the background. She tried to speak and her vocal chords felt like broken glass.

“Please hold still, Lieutenant,” clucked Nurse Antsiferov. “We need to run a full scan to determine if you have any further injuries or internal damage.”

She didn’t want to hold still, she wanted to know what the hell was going on. She reluctantly complied until another set of beeps indicated the scan was complete.

“Two fractured ribs, extensive internal bruising and a concussion,” read the nurse from the display. “Considering you were clinically dead for 2 minutes, that’s surprisingly mild.”

“I was dead?” her throat was scratchy and she broke into a coughing fit. She could then feel the aforementioned broken ribs and groaned in pain. The nurse placed another hypospray to her neck and the pain lessened slightly.

“Yes, for two minutes,” her voice still even and matter-of-fact. “This should take the edge off until we can repair your ribs. We are in a triage situation so you will have to wait until we clear the life-threatening injuries.”

She lifted her head up slightly and could see that all of the bio-beds in sickbay were occupied. Some of the injuries looked serious and she wanted to get up and start treating them. Nurse Antsiferov seemed to sense this and put a hand on her shoulder.

“You are in no condition to stand, let alone assist with surgery. Dr. Rayne and the rest of the medical team are working as quickly as they can.” Katrina still wanted answers.

“What happened? I remember arriving at the embassy for the peace talks and nothing after that.”

“An explosive device had been planted in a ventilation shaft near the conference room and the security scans completely missed it. Fortunately for us, it went off while the attendees were still arriving and there were no fatalities.” Katrina let out the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding, relief pouring through her. She dismissed the nurse, lying through her teeth and claiming she wasn’t in pain. She closed her eyes and took a few breaths, trying to remember the order of events so that she could eventually put them in a report.

Later that evening she sat on her own bed with her newly-healed ribs, drinking tea and staring out the window. She was putting off writing her report, mostly because she still couldn’t remember much, and her thoughts kept moving in muddled circles. When the door alarm rang she ignored it. When it rang again, she reluctantly responded.

“Come in,” she said softly, cradling the cup of tea in her hands. Dr. Rayne poked her head into the room.

“Kat, are you up for a chat or should I come back?” Anya Rayne was known for her ability to read situations and act with discernment. This was just one of the qualities Katrina admired in her.

“No, please stay, I could use the company.”

Anya sat on the desk chair and put her hand on top of Katrina’s. Her calm gaze brought tears to Katrina’s eyes, which she didn’t try to hide.

“I’m still trying to process the fact that I was dead for two minutes,” she said in a rush, the words pouring out her. “I’ve read report after report of near death experience survivors who come back profoundly changed and describe visions of the afterlife. Many were instances of the classic white light but the reports also included waiting rooms, forests, fields, and the vast expanse of space. All of these visions, all of them so clearly remembered.” She realized that she was sobbing but couldn’t stop talking.

“I don’t remember a single thing! One moment I’m walking into a building and the next I was waking up on the bio-bed. There were no white lights, no dead loved ones beckoning. It was no different than waking up from a quick nap, albeit a lot more painful.This really shouldn’t bother me so much, I feel absolutely ridiculous,” she admitted weakly.

Dr. Rayne said nothing at first and simply offered a hug, which Katrina accepted.

“Your experience is no less valid than anyone else’s, nor any less profound. You might not have seen white lights or loved ones but what really matters is that you are alive. This universe we live in and explore was not ready to lose you and neither was I. What you do next is what matters, and I know you have the power and drive to do amazing things.” Katrina found herself giggling through her tears.

“Are you sure you aren’t the shrink in the room?” Anya laughed in response.

“Seriously though, I foresee an uptick in my duties for the near future. There were at least 17 crew members who were injured or otherwise impacted by the explosion and I would like to schedule appointments with each of them. Especially the ones who don’t want to see me.” Anya nodded as Katrina suddenly felt very tired and stifled a yawn.

“I will take care of the scheduling for you in the morning, right now you need to rest and Captain Lopez doesn’t want you on duty for at least 24 hours. Please let me know if the pain comes back or if you start feeling dizzy.”

“Aye, ma’am,” she said sleepily and Dr. Rayne smiled as she took her leave.

Katrina turned back to the window and took another sip of her tea. She stared at the streaks of light going by and realized that she would be alright. She would process her experience and move on, the way she did with everything else. She still had time to search for meaning and profundity somewhere else.


End file.
